Work on the luxury, five-story 520 Neil development on the north side of downtown Champaign is beginning this week, with Serra Ventures being the anchor tenant, using more than 4,000 square feet of the top-floor office space. The new development will also be home to retail space, luxury apartments as well as terrace space for functions.

"We are deeply appreciative of the relationship we've had with the University of Illinois Research Park. And though we now have locations in Chicago and San Diego, we remain intimately involved in the Champaign-Urbana technology ecosystem and will continue investing in start-ups originating from this world-class university," said Tim Hoerr, CEO of Serra. "This new location will quite literally enable a new level of effectiveness and service to our portfolio companies and investors."